Here's a few of the better shots from our formation photoshoot last Friday. "Blue" is an RV-7 built by Tom Bootyman that started flying earlier this year. "Orange" is my own RV-6. We departed Shackwell Farm in Leicestershire UK and flew around the Rutland Water area.

10 days to go until the nationals ...... here's yesterdays practice session.

3 Cameras, Synced to first wing rock then edited by switching between them along an unadjusted time line. Fairly happy, Just need to watch out for the 1000' minimum altitude, there's a second or two at 900' near the end

A lifetime RC modeller talks about state of the art fullsize design - interesting stuff !

GB1 GameBirdWhy do modern aerobatic aircraft look the way they do?With an RC model, you´ve got endless options: engine, size, weight, shapes, all can be as you want. It takes an idea, some work and off you go. Best way to learn and to try new things.Model aerobatics are clearly leading the way, at least in Freestyle.Add people to flying machines, and the amount of options for designers gets less:There are pretty much only 2 engines to choose from if the machine is supposed to have sufficient performance for unlimited competition (Lycoming AEIO 580 and M14 radial).Persons require space, add weight and come in all shapes and sizes (but pay, so make sure they feel comfortable sitting in the airplane!) Cockpit design and ergonomics and engine choice are pretty much the starting point. Once you´ve decided how many people (one or two) should be propelled through the box by which engine, the rest is a matter of how many you want to sell and to whom, size of the development budget, plus talent, experience and persistence.It is also important to make sure the design can be produced economically and that the design meets whatever regulations apply so that it may legally fly.I’ve been working at Game Composites the last two and a half years. At Game Composites I have the privilege of working with the best team I could wish for. Building the team is one of the key factors to make such a long and...Continue Reading

Here's a video from last Friday - taking a "1st timer" for an aeros ride in a Pitts. He's wearing my headset / headcam setup in the front seat. All preflight checks OK we launch and climb to 3500' just North of the airfield. Final pre aerobatic check is to roll inverted and check oil pressure / fuel systems and no loose objects.

I've been trying to improve my flick roll technique of late. Every so often I hit a good one - but it's not consistent. Soooo, I've made a little film to help reinforce what it should look like to help me remember.

The current "recipe" is

-Set full power and climb 45 deg to drop airspeed to 85mph
-Level off and allow to accelerate to 100mph
-Rapid tug of up elevator to give about 2.5g,
-At the exact moment the G peaks bang in about 70% left rudder
-When the aeroplane "breaks" Unload to 80% fwd stick / 70% left aileron
-Keep the rudder in until 3/4 complete (I often fail here !)
-Change feet, then , a little more fwd stick (like a mini punch) then back to neutral to stop

This is what it looks like. (still slightly over rotated and a slight L/H heading change - but at least there's a fair "snap" to the rotation)

Just realised I never posted this 'Vid. Much the same as the last one - you can hopefully see a little progression in technique since this earlier flight. I loved the bit at the end swooping through the clouds - the RV is great for this - so fast

A nice day just after finishing work ready for Christmas. Not much of an Edit - just add a little music and watch "as is"

I'm gradually exploring flying the RV inverted. Nothing had fallen off and it's kept running so far. Actually, it's better inverted than I thought it would be - not much fwd stick and although I loose a little height it seems to fly along quite nicely at about 170mph inverted.

2015 has been fantastic for me. My first visit to Oshkosh, my first complete aircraft build finished (and flown). Numerous "once in a lifetime" views of the world from the air, 6 or 7 films (I even seem to have finally seem gotten to grips with Premier Elements at long last !)